mykevermin
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[quote name='atreyue']I think the answer to this is simple, if somewhat controversial. The greater part of American Black society places no value on the "intellectual classes" and defines success in general in a completely different fashion than the American majority. Most black people are taught (and in turn teach their own children) that success is completely independent of having a job. The black role models consist mainly of sports stars, music stars, and actors. While these are all viable professions, only a select few (of any culture or race) can actually get them. When black people usually talk about good regular jobs, they talk about being a doctor or a lawyer and that's it. It's not that black people are stupid or anything like that, there's just a very limited general idea of what people's options are. There's also a great deal of reticence in the Black community to get into any area that isn't traditionallly 'black'. Pair that with the general disinterest in education, and most blacks don't have very high expectations for themselves. It's always hard for people to picture themselves in a life outside of their experiences.[/quote]
This is an argument that many people make; I don't disagree with it, but I do ask this: where does causation lie? Are the stereotypical blacks mentioned in your hypothetical responsible for their own condition? Is the government responsible? Are larger social institutions responsible for the great degree of residential segregation that exists today, which in turn leads those living in poverty to abandon hope of acheivement? What are the other possibilities?
I would not limit blacks to being the types of people who idolize flagrant materialism and attractive people on the television. It's not as if Cornel West, Elijah Anderson, or Aldon Morris have the clout that Loudacris does. Likewise, I imagine that more people could name the past three winners of Survivor than could name, for instance, the Prime Minister of Canada (man, I'm really grasping for nerdy obscurity, aren't I)?
The short version of my argument: you may be right, but I fail to see how whites are any different in embracing pop culture. I wonder how the opportunity to get higher education affects this stereotype (if we consider that lower class people are less likely to attend college, and that middle and upper class people are more likely to attend college, is this a socioeconomic issue masquerading itself as a racial issue)?
myke.
...you're correct that meritocratic ideals and a meritocracy are distinct entities; the former, however, is essentially useless in the absence of the latter.
This is an argument that many people make; I don't disagree with it, but I do ask this: where does causation lie? Are the stereotypical blacks mentioned in your hypothetical responsible for their own condition? Is the government responsible? Are larger social institutions responsible for the great degree of residential segregation that exists today, which in turn leads those living in poverty to abandon hope of acheivement? What are the other possibilities?
I would not limit blacks to being the types of people who idolize flagrant materialism and attractive people on the television. It's not as if Cornel West, Elijah Anderson, or Aldon Morris have the clout that Loudacris does. Likewise, I imagine that more people could name the past three winners of Survivor than could name, for instance, the Prime Minister of Canada (man, I'm really grasping for nerdy obscurity, aren't I)?
The short version of my argument: you may be right, but I fail to see how whites are any different in embracing pop culture. I wonder how the opportunity to get higher education affects this stereotype (if we consider that lower class people are less likely to attend college, and that middle and upper class people are more likely to attend college, is this a socioeconomic issue masquerading itself as a racial issue)?
myke.
...you're correct that meritocratic ideals and a meritocracy are distinct entities; the former, however, is essentially useless in the absence of the latter.
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